System Create New Storage Pool of Storage Spaces in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to use Storage Spaces to create a new storage pool of drives in Windows 11.

Storage Spaces helps protect your data from drive failures and extend storage over time as you add drives to your PC. You can use Storage Spaces to group two or more drives together in a storage pool and then use capacity from that pool to create virtual drives called storage spaces. These storage spaces typically store two copies of your data so if one of your drives fails, you still have an intact copy of your data. If you run low on capacity, just add more drives to the storage pool.

Reference:

You must be signed in as an administrator to create a new storage pool.

Here's How:

1 Open Settings (Win+I).

2 Click/tap on System on the left side, and click/tap on Storage on the right side. (see screenshot below)



3 Click/tap on Advanced storage settings to expand it open, and click/tap on Storage Spaces. (see screenshot below)


4 Click/tap on the Add button to Add a new Storage Pool. (see screenshot below)


5 Perform the following steps to create a new Storage Pool: (see screenshot below)

Disks you select to add to this new storage pool will get formatted.

1. Type a Name you want for this new storage pool.
2. Select (check) any available disk(s) you want to add to this new storage pool.
   
   

   You need at least two extra drives (in addition to the drive where Windows is installed). These drives can be internal or external hard drives, or solid state drives. You can use a variety of types of drives with Storage Spaces, including USB, SATA, and SAS drives.

   
   
3. Click/tap on Create.

6 Perform the following steps to create a new Storage Space for the Storage Pool: (see screenshot below)

Think of a Storage Space as a volume or partition on the Storage Pool, and the Storage Pool acts as a single virtual disk made up of the pool of added physical disks.

1. Type a Name you want for this new Storage Space.
2. Select an available Simple (no resiliency), Two-way mirror (default), Three-way mirror, Parity, or Dual parity type of resiliency you want.
   
   

   Simple spaces are designed for increased performance, but don't protect your files from drive failure. They're best for temporary data (such as video rendering files), image editor scratch files, and intermediary compiler object files. Simple spaces require at least two drives to be useful.
   
   Mirror spaces are designed for increased performance and protect your files from drive failure by keeping multiple copies. Two-way mirror spaces make two copies of your files and can tolerate one drive failure, while three-way mirror spaces can tolerate two drive failures. Mirror spaces are good for storing a broad range of data, from a general-purpose file share to a VHD library. When a mirror space is formatted with the Resilient File System (ReFS), Windows will automatically maintain your data integrity, which makes your files even more resilient to drive failure. Two-way mirror spaces require at least two drives, and three-way mirror spaces require at least five.
   
   Parity spaces are designed for storage efficiency and protect your files from drive failure by keeping multiple copies. Parity spaces are best for archival data and streaming media, like music and videos. This storage layout requires at least three drives to protect you from a single drive failure and at least seven drives to protect you from two drive failures.

   
   
3. Enter a maximum Size (ex: "4.54 TB") you want to use for this storage space out of the available free "Pool capacity (Storage Pool)".
4. Click/tap on Create.

7 Perform the following steps to create a new volume for this Storage Space: (see screenshots below)

1. Type a Name you want for this new volume in File Explorer > This PC.
2. Select an available Drive Letter you want for this new volume.
3. Select a File System you want to use.
4. Click/tap on Format.

8 The new Storage Pool of storage spaces will now be available to use like any other drive. (see screenshots below)





That's it,
Shawn Brink